A person who creates an estate plan usually drafts a will to outline what they want to happen to their assets after their death. The vast majority of wills are read and executed without any issues, but there are times when those invested in an estate may have a reason to believe that a will isn’t valid.
It’s possible for beneficiaries to contest a will if they have grounds to question its validity. There must be a legally accepted reason for challenging the will and it can only be challenged by an interested party, such as someone named in the current will or someone who was named in a previous version of the will. A successful challenge can invalidate a will, at which time the court will determine how to handle the estate.
Fraud or forgery
Wills can be contested based on allegations of fraud or forgery. Fraud might involve someone intentionally deceiving the testator into signing the will based on untruthful or incomplete information. Forgery means the will or signature being falsified without the testator’s knowledge.
Undue influence
One of the primary reasons a will might be contested is the claim of undue influence. This occurs when someone pressures or manipulates the person creating the will, who is known as the testator, to make decisions that benefit the influencer, rather than reflecting the testator’s true wishes.
Lack of testamentary capacity
Another common reason for contesting a will is a lack of testamentary capacity. In order to write a valid will, a testator must be able to understand the function and consequences of the document they’re creating. If they lack this understanding due to illness, injury, age, etc. their purported wishes may potentially be overturned.
Contesting a will can be rather complex. Working with a legal representative can help individuals who need to contest a will to get the process stared before the expiration of the statute of limitations tied to this kind of legal action.
